Moose Lake to Alta Peak Question and/or Alternate trips

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Trailguru
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Moose Lake to Alta Peak Question and/or Alternate trips

Post by Trailguru »

Hi there

Due to extreme time constraint and the need to get away I'm going on a 2.5 day backpacking trip. We want to drive up on friday night camp on the trailhead and take off first thing Saturday morning. I would love to visit Moose Lake and possibly hit up Alta Peak on the way or the way back. Looking at the map I've noticed it's only 8 miles to Moose lake and easy X-C to from Pear Lake to Moose Lake.

Now the question is. Is my idea too far fetched? Could we possibly arrive early at Moose Lake and hit up Alta Peak on the same day OR Summit Alta Peak and then descend directly to Moose Lake?

On another note, if this plan doesn't work out is there an alternate trip we can do in two days (either Western or eastern side) where it includes a loop, high alpine scenery AND a Summit ascent? (I don't know if I'm asking for the Unicorn here :-)

All three of us are very experienced hikers and I'm very good with cross country navigation. Thanks for all your input
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Re: Moose Lake to Alta Peak Question and/or Alternate trips

Post by Trailguru »

Also, i've been looking in Cottonwood Lakes with a possible ascent of Langley as a viable loop hike...
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Re: Moose Lake to Alta Peak Question and/or Alternate trips

Post by cgundersen »

Trailguru,
With the snow this year, I'd guess your better bet would be Alta/Moose versus the much higher East side loop. I've not tried climbing down to Moose from Alta, so cannot offer advice there. But, if you're carrying gear for just 2 nights, I'd guess you could bag Alta (maybe even stash your packs as you start the ascent and pick 'em up when you come back down) and then get back on the trail to Alta meadow and then the last semi-lengthy stretch in the woods before the final ascent up to the alpine environs of Moose. Views to the East from Moose are great. Looping back over the Tablelands can be a bit perplexing even for those used to cross country travel, as the terrain winds up being more challenging than it looks on the topo maps. It always takes me more time than I expect. But, it does make a good loop. And, from the nice webcams that look at your route, the snow has been melting fast, so there should be far fewer obstacles than you'd get on New Army Pass (which can be a trick when there is lotsa snow).
cg
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